


Lavender Ribbons

by Sybariticfanfiction (SybariticReyna)



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alchemy, Beruka deserves a girlfriend so I took matters into my own hands, Elise mentions the purple in her hair being dyed in her bsupport w Camilla, F/F, Fluff, Gen, GiveBerukaKisses2kforever, Hair Dyeing, Medieval Hair Dye bc fire emblem is WEIRD, i think, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 16:45:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15689385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SybariticReyna/pseuds/Sybariticfanfiction
Summary: Elise wants her hair dyed, Beruka and Peri know just the person





	Lavender Ribbons

Having one  _ Royal Retainer  _ in your shop is a little bit nerve wracking on a good day, even when one of them is Beruka. Having  _ two  _ Royal Retainers and a girl who is definitely-not-princess-Elise in your shop on a Tuesday the morning after you were drinking is… next level.

 

Definitely-not-Elise has her hair down, thick curls falling all the way down to her waist. She must take good care if it, by the looks of it. Not many folks around the undercity keep their split ends meticulously trimmed and, assumably, moistized. Although you suppose the latter could be natural, in which case you envy her something  _ fierce. _

 

“So.” You begin, flattening your hands on the counter. “What can I do for you? Poison?”

 

Beruka gives you one of her miniscule smiles and shakes her head. “No. But if you have something interesting…” _Something interesting_  is her way of flirting. Its awkward, but adorable. 

 

“I just might.” You smile right back without restraint. She’s so  _ cute.  _ Life in the undercity wasn’t kind to her, and you treasure any and all moments wherein she expresses actual emotions (Usually you can only manage it with her hands on your waist, breath ragid from kisses and excitement. She smiles so prettily with her mouth stained from your lipstick).

 

Peri giggles from where she’s loitering near the wall of shelves, looking over your options as if she hasn’t been here dozens of times before. As if she doesn’t choose the same shade of pink every time she gets her hair dyed.

 

Not-Elise thrusts her hand out, clearly waiting for you to greet her specifically.

 

You hesitantly shake her hand and wonder if you should be using her title or not.

 

“I’m E-- Ellie. Please call me Ellie.” She says. Her voice is higher than you would’ve expected, but not  _ unpleasant. _

 

“A pleasure, Ellie.” You respond. “What can I do for you?”

 

She gives a radiant smile. “Um. Yes. I was wondering if you could match someone’s hair color? Like… Princess Camilla, for example?”

 

She’s not very good at keeping things on the down low, but she’s clearly making an effort. You smile and nod, “Princess Camilla lilac is a  _ very  _ popular color.”

 

Ellie nods so quick you worry if she’ll hurt her neck. “I… I don’t want  _ all  _ my hair purple. Maybe something like Peri has?”

 

You move out from behind the counter, hip checking Peri out of the way so you can grab the right dye. “What style do you usually wear your hair in? Down, up, pigtails?”

 

“Oh, um. It’s curly naturally so I put it in ringlet pigtails? It’s hard to explain.”

 

Truthfully you don’t need her to explain, seeing as you’ve caught glances of her while spending Quality Time with Beruka, her liege, and Selena. But it's more fun this way.

 

“Can you grab a bowl and my medium brush?” You ask Beruka gently, nodding towards the counter. You then turn back to Ellie, “Have you considered streaks? We could follow the curls, and it’ll be a little more… subtle and sophisticated.”

 

The way she lights up at the word “sophisticated” makes you laugh. “Yeah! Let’s do that instead!” She cheers.

 

“Okay then. Sit right down and I’ll get started.”

 

Beruka hands you the requested items as Ellie sits down, and you, rather daringly, lean over to kiss her cheek before she retreats. She turns a lovely shade of pink, and when you look back to the princess she’s got wide, amazed eyes.

 

“Ellie?” You ask amusedly.

 

She just smiles. “Okay! How do you…?”

 

“Well, first I’m going to lighten your hair a bit, just to make sure the color is what we want and it dry it out a bit. While your hair is  _ wonderful,  _ moisture doesn’t help with the absorption.”

 

She, unlike most people, seems very interested in how the whole process works, so you continue explaining and explaining as you paint streaks into her hair. It’s… homey. You’ve always found a strange sort of intimacy to dying hair. Maybe it's just because hair is such an integral part of self expression for most people? Or because the very act of allowing someone free reign with your hair requires a certain amount of trust?

 

Either way, between Ellie’s questions and Beruka and Peri’s presence, you find yourself much more relaxed than you were when they walked in.

 

And here you thought they would be up to something.

 

Ellie very nearly falls asleep as you wash out the dye and then smother the curls in leave-in conditioner before letting Peri braid it. She’s always liked doing people’s hair. 

  
  
Plus, letting her do that means you can slip your arms around Beruka’s waist and lean into her. She’s smaller than you, but certainly stronger. For an assassin, she’s less lean muscle and more Beef on a small frame. 

  
  
You like it though. So long as she’s not in that hard armor of hers. That makes cuddling  _ significantly _ less comfortable. 

  
  
She lays her head on your shoulder after a moment of hesitation, the anxiety draining out of her frame. She’s always so  _ tense. _ Always ready to fight, even in a shop full of poisons that could  _ easily  _ take out any intruders.

 

You sigh. The words  _ I love you  _ are on the tip of your tongue (you want to repeat it over and over until she understands that you think the world of her, that she’s not broken or just an assassin, she’s  _ Beruka _ ), but Peri’s laughter reminds you you’re not alone.

 

Beruka doesn’t like open affection, as she finds it embarrassing. Hugging her like this, even in front of friends, is pushing the limit. You lean further into her instead, and ask, “Are you going to be returning to the Palace with Lady Elise?”

 

“Yes. You may come as well. Lady Camilla has missed you.” She says it without any emotion, but her hands on your waist are gentle, affectionate as she idly runs her thumbs back and forth.

 

“Aww,” You coo. “I would be honored,” to get even more kisses, specifically. “But are you sure it's alright?” You’re very rarely invited back to the castle proper.

 

She nods. “King Garon is visiting that… music place.”

 

Oh,  _ that place.  _ Camilla has talked about it before, but neither you nor Beruka have much interest in fancy-shmancy cities for rich people. “At least that means we can spend time together.” You offer lightly.

 

Beruka presses her lips against your collarbone, not quite a kiss but not a simple touch either. “Yes. It is.”

 

“Hey!” Peri claps you on the back, making both you and Beruka jump. “Do you have a mirror?”

 

“On the counter, Peri.” You take a step away from Beruka and motion towards it, glancing over at Elise. She looks cute with her hair braided. Cuter even when she sees the brand new streaks in her hair and smiles.

 

You suddenly understand why Camilla gets so excited whenever she mentions her baby sister. She’s just too damn adorable.

 

She spins in place excitedly, “Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you!”

 

_What a sweetheart._ You hold your hands out in front of you in a pacifying manner, “It’s fine! No need to thank me. Unless your thanks involves a nice tip.”

 

She pulls out a bag of gold much too full for the work, and you try to backtrack, “Oh, my lady, I was just joking!”

 

She giggles, “My lady?”

 

...dammit.

 

“Here.” She hands you the gold with a surprisingly steely look on her face. “Thank you.”

 

You shakily take the offering and stomp down your instinct to refuse. You don’t like owing people things, but this probably isn’t a powerplay on her part. Probably.

 

She and Peri exit ahead of you, Elise too impatient to wait for you to close up shop. Beruka sits on the counter while you clean the sink of purple dye and put everything in their proper places. You can feel her eyes trailing your every movement, not like a predator like she used to but… like she’s admiring you.

 

You set up your usual “Out Of The Shop” trap at the door, once again thankful that your little shop doesn’t have any windows. Not only is light bad for some of the poisons, but it would be much harder to secure everything.

 

You store the money in the secret safe you keep under the floorboards, allowing Beruka to watch you do so.  _ Showing  _ that you trust her goes much further than just saying so with Beruka.

 

Plus, you like that she is also not of fan of one sidedness. She rewards your display with a hesitant kiss at the door, setting her hands on your waist. “Thank you.” She says against your mouth. Her eyes are an odd shade of purple-grey, but up close you can see blue and gold in them.

 

Some part of you knows it's silly to be so enraptured by her  _ eye color  _ of all things, when she’s waiting with baited breath for you to kiss her back, but she’s just...

 

She’s so beautiful, you think dizzily.

 

You finally give her one quick kiss and whisper, “Love you.”

 

She’s  _ embarrassed _ , blushing the prettiest shade of pink you’ve ever seen, and tries to make up for it by distracting you with a quick, “Lady Camilla is anxious to see you and I won’t disappoint her.”

 

“You couldn’t disappoint us if you  _ tried _ , Beruka.”

**Author's Note:**

> readers shop sign just says Alchemy but its rly "bleach and die" bc... puns. 
> 
> the "ambiguous or implied tag" is bc reader, Beruka, Selena & Camilla are all girlfriends. theyre rly gay. rly in love. its sappy. Elise actually knows Exactly who reader is.


End file.
